Having a Little Fun at the Diner

Just for kicks!

I LOVE this Park (Central Park)

This week the combination of Eda and Ana's visit and the beautiful weather allowed me to spend quite a lot of time walking around Central Park. I realized, after I had said it countless times to myself, that I love this park! Everywhere you walk, there is a beautiful vista. Here is a selection of my favorite photos:













My Favorite Spot...

A Nice Visit From the Family

We had a wonderful visit from the family this past week. Ana and Eda found a great deal on airfare and came from Barcelona to visit us (and the city I suppose...).

So it's been fun, but lot and lots of walking! We went shopping and got a ton of fun stuff...although I tried not to buy too much! (I ended up with a nice new raincoat on sale, some new red shoes, and a few other odds and ends) We went to: Macy's, Old Navy, Bed Bath & Beyond, Gap, Banana Republic, Container Store, TJ Maxx, Filene's Basement, Aldo, Bakers Shoes, Kenneth Cole, Grand Central Market, Ann Taylor Loft, and so on. So you can see...we were busy. Needless to say, each night we all slept well.

Felipe walked with us for about three hours on Saturday and we totally wore him out!


Eda, Ana and I took several walks through Central Park, which at this time of year is absolutely fabulous. Everything was blooming and we had really great weather!



The four of us went on Friday night to see a show at Dizzy's Club at Jazz at the Lincoln Center. It's one of my favorite venues for jazz, mainly because it is spacious and has beautiful views of Central Park south and 59th Street.

Friday night was a performance by Rene Marie. Eda and Ana had a great time, and it was quite an enjoyable evening.



Saturday morning we went for brunch to EJs Diner on the upper west side.


We walked around the upper west side and Central Park for a bit after lunch, just to enjoy the wonderful weather that we've been having this weekend (80s and Sunny!!). Central Park was full of people, picnicing, boating, skating, biking, running and just enjoying.

A nice photo of the three of them :D


Ana and I having a fun moment at a picnic :D

Tomorrow Eda and Ana return to Barcelona, and we'll miss them. But I was so excited to finally have had time to go around town with my favorite mother- and sister-in-law!

Enchanting Stories - Animal Tales

I was briefly discussing illustrations for children's books with my friend Sammi this afternoon, and it reminded me that I wanted to share some of the cool vintage illustrations from my dad's old Enchanting Stories story book.

There are so many great illustrations, so this is the first of several posts (each dedicated to another chapter). Enjoy!

Yay - New Things!

So I made a new banner for the blog, this one is a little more refined than the last...I hope you all enjoy it.

This afternoon I took a walk through Central Park after work on my way to meet Felipe. I love this time of year in Central Park when everything is beginning to blossom and turn green. It was a beautiful day, 57 degrees and partly cloudy, and there were tons of people strolling around (many due to the Passover holiday and spring break). I took a few photos of the springtime signs around the park. I hope you enjoy them as I do!

Happy Easter 2009

Happy Easter Everyone! Felipe and I had a wonderful day with our Easter brunch. Nicole, Sammi, Mike, Michael and Cord came over and we had a great time eating tons of yummy food and playing apples to apples.

Included in the yummy food was some angel food layer cake with strawberries that Sammi brought over:


Some tasty carrot cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and orange zest (recipe at the end):


And a bunch of other super good food which was consumed too fast for the camera to catch it! (including lamb shish kebab, my very first ever ham, roasted asparagus, rice pilaf, Spanish tortilla, strawberries and other breads). We thoroughly stuffed ourselves!

We also had a bit of fun dying eggs as well :D



(okay, so there is no egg dying in the last photo...but it gives you an idea of the table coming together).

The End Results:

Don't they all look pretty! only thing is that I forgot to have people take some with them...so now I have two dozen hard boiled eggs for Felipe and I....


Recipe for Best-Ever Carrot Cake (Better Homes and Gardens)
Prep: 30 mins Bake: 30 mins Cool: 2 Hours Makes: 24 Cupcakes

4 Beaten Eggs
2 Cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 cups finely shredded carrots, lightly packed (finely shredded so that it doesn't settle at the bottom of the cake
3/4 cup cooking oil
Cream Cheese Frosting

1. Allow eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Prepare two cupcake tins with paper cups (or grease and flour). In a large mixing bowl stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda.

2. In a medium bowl combine eggs, carrots, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir until combined. Pour batter into prepared cupcake tins.

3. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool thoroughly on racks.

4. Frost tops and sprinkle with orange zest, toasted coconut, or chopped pecans or walnuts if desired. Store in the refrigerator for up to three days.

Mmmmm.....Curry (there seems to be a food theme lately...)

So it seems that many of my posts recently have been food related...I find this interesting, but cannot explain it! We've tried another new recipe recently, and it turned out quite well. I would maybe add a little less tomato sauce the next time I make it, and I added chicken to this recipe...but I highly recommend it as a quick and easy dinner. I can't remember where I picked up this recipe, but I think that it might have been one of my Food Magazines.

1 Cup long-grain white rice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil,
such as safflower
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 cups homemade or best quality store-bought tomato sauce
2 cans (15 ounces each) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ cup plain low-fat yogurt

Cook rice according to package instructions; cover and keep warm

While rice is cooking, heat oil over medium in a large skillet. Add onion and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring frequently, until onion is tender, 4 to 6 minutes. (this is where I added the chicken) Add curry powder and ginger; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add tomato sauce, chickpeas, and 1 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in lime juice; season with salt and pepper. Serve stew with rice and yogurt, garnished with lime wedges and a pinch of curry.

*I opted not to use the yogurt, and it was fine without it. Also, I would consider adding potato or carrot to the mix as well.

Mmmmm.....Kebab.

Friday night we met Laurence, who is again visiting from Paris (at this point it feels like she's never left!). We had dinner at a tiny little restaurant on 9th avenue called the Afghan Kebab House #1. It's a tiny little restaurant with a very unassuming street face. But inside they serve really wonderful food and have a cozy atmosphere. I got my "usual" (having ordered it twice now) of Lamb Kufta kebab, while Felipe got the mixed variety (also super yummy). A highly recommended place to get a good meal.


(photo was taken much later in the dinner, twenty minutes prior the place was packed!)

Spring Magnolias

"Spring, the sweet spring, is the year’s pleasant king;
Then blooms each thing, then maids dance in a ring,
Cold doth not sting, the pretty birds do sing...."
-Thomas Nashe (1567–1601)

No maids have I seen, but certainly there is a lot of blooming going on in the city. Now opens the season where I can walk though central park on my way home...and enjoy the budding trees, daffodils and tulips.

I hope you are all enjoying spring as much as I! These flowers were seen on my walk to the office a few days ago...so beautiful!